American Lung Association Issues State of the Air Report: First City Outside California (Pittsburgh) Tops One of the Most-Polluted Lists

... National Trends Show that Declines in Ozone and Particle Pollution...WASHINGTON May 1 -- The American LungAssocia...Pittsburgh moved to the top of the list of cities most polluted bysho...Los Angeles despite being ranked atop two of the three most-polluted...

National Trends Show that Declines in Ozone and Particle Pollution Have
Stalled

WASHINGTON, May 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Lung
Association issued its annual report card on air pollution today, ranking
cities most affected by three types of pollution: short-term particle
pollution, year-round particle pollution and ozone pollution. For the first
time ever, a city outside California, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, tops one of
the most polluted lists in the ninth consecutive American Lung Association
State of the Air report.

Pittsburgh moved to the top of the list of cities most polluted by
short-term levels of particle pollution, a deadly cocktail of ash, soot,
diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals and aerosols that can spike dangerously
for hours to weeks on end. The body's natural defenses, coughing and
sneezing, fail to keep these microscopic particles from burrowing deep
within the lungs, triggering serious problems such as breathing, asthma and
heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and even early death. Pittsburgh also
ranks second on the list of cities with the most year-round particle
pollution while Los Angeles again claims the first spot this year.

Los Angeles, despite being ranked atop two of the three most-polluted
lists, saw continued improvements in air quality, dropping its year-round
particle pollution levels by nearly one-third during the last decade, and
saw solid improvement in levels of ozone or "smog," a gas formed most often
when sunlight reacts with vapors emitted when motor vehicles, factories,
power plants and other sources burn fuel. Ozone irritates the respiratory
tract and causes health problems like asthma attacks, coughing, wheezing,
chest pain and even premature death.

"The air quality in several cities has improved, but in others,
declines in pollution have stalled. The trends tell us loud and clear that
we need to do more to protect Americans from breathing air that's simply
hazardous to their health," said Bernadette Toomey, President and Chief
Executive Officer, American Lung Association. "We applaud the aggressive
efforts of Los Angeles to control particle pollution. It's proof that
making a commitment to clean up pays off."

Several cities across the country lost footing and slipped closer to
the top of the list of most ozone-polluted cities, including San Diego,
Atlanta, Charlotte and the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. metro area.
Birmingham, Alabama, joined the list for the very first time, ranking at
number 22 of most ozone-polluted cities, while the five worst cities on
this list actually saw modest improvements. Fresno, California, for
example, experienced a remarkable decline in the number of high ozone days
since its peak in 2001-2003.

Due to the lead time for the State of the Air report, the American Lung
Association used the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 1997
standard for ozone levels rather than the new tighter standard announced on
March 12, 2008.

"If we were to measure the number of unhealthy days against the new
ozone standard, it would show that ozone pollution is worse than the report
indicates," said Ms. Toomey. "Even with these stricter ozone standards,
Americans are being denied the health protection they deserve under the
Clean Air Act."

National trends: declines in ozone and particle pollution have stalled.

New this year, the State of the Air report provides online charts
showing the trends in ozone and year-round particle pollution in each of
the 25 most polluted cities. The ozone charts cover data from 1996 to 2006,
while the year-round particle pollution charts show trends from 2000-2006.
In addition, the report incorporates the EPA analyses of ozone trend data
from 1990 to 2006 and particle pollution trend data for 2000-2006. The
State of the Air trend charts and the EPA analyses confirm that air
pollution levels dropped in the early years of this century, but have
leveled off in the last three years, particularly when controlled for
weather.

Other Key Findings of State of the Air 2008:

-- One in 10 people in the U.S. live in areas with unhealthful levels of

all three types of pollution: ozone, short-term and year-round particle

pollution.

-- Two of five people in the U.S live in counties that have unhealthful

levels of either ozone or particle pollution.

-- Nearly one-third of the U.S. population lives in areas with unhealthful

levels of ozone.

-- Over one quarter of the people in the U.S. live in an area with

unhealthful short-term levels of particle pollution.

-- One in six people in the U.S. live in an area with unhealthful

year-round levels of particle pollution.

The cities identified in the lists below most often include the
respective metropolitan areas.

To see what grade (A to F) your community's air quality earned, visit
the American Lung Association website at http://www.lungusa.org. Tips are also
available on how to protect yourself and your family from air pollution.

About the American Lung Association: Beginning our second century, the
American Lung Association is the leading organization working to prevent
lung disease and promote lung health. Lung disease death rates continue to
increase while other leading causes of death have declined. The American
Lung Association funds vital research on the causes of and treatments for
lung disease. With the generous support of the public, the American Lung
Association is "Improving life, one breath at a time." For more information
about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call
1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or log on to http://www.lungusa.org.

(Date:8/16/2017)... ... August 16, 2017 , ... The Data Council, ... that it was acquired by Advantage Solutions. The Data Council’s IX-ONE platform ... include the industry’s leading suppliers, brokers, distributors and retailers. The Data Council will ...

(Date:7/26/2017)... Medical Aesthetics, a leading medical aesthetic clinic in Singapore ... several skin conditions from the inside. The natural process ... The skin becomes more transparent due to the thinning of the ... from the sun contributes to aging skin, causing age spots and ... ...